Sleep disorder linked to higher risk of Parkinson's, dementia

28/07/2010

People with a particular sleep disorder may be more likely to develop Parkinson's disease and certain forms of dementia, a study has found.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US studied the medical records of 27 people who had suffered from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder for several years before developing dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease or multiple system atrophy (a disorder with similar symptoms to Parkinson's).

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They discovered that the average time between the onset of the sleep disorder and the development of the neurologic disorders was 25 years.

Study author Dr Bradley Boeve, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said: 'More research is needed on this possible link so that scientists may be able to develop therapies that would slow down or stop the progression of these disorders years before the symptoms of Parkinson's disease or dementia appear.'

Commenting on the findings, which are published in Neurology journal, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer's Society said that the study improves our understanding of how Lewy body dementia develops.

However, acting chief executive Ruth Sutherland noted: 'We don't yet understand why this correlation exists and, given the small sample size of this study, more research is needed.'

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